*Los Angeles:* The iconic home of Mickey Mouse said yesterday it would no longer print and sell its beloved currency, the Disney dollar, sparking a buying frenzy among collectors.The distinctive bills, each featuring iconic characters and signed by treasurer Scrooge McDuck, have been a legitimate form of money within the Disney universe since they were put into circulation in the 1980s.
Mickey was featured on the dollar bill while Goofy was on the $5 and Minnie Mouse was on the $10.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/may/27-navy_s.jpg*The shipwreck of migrant boat off Libyan coast on Wednesday. Pics/AFP*
Francesco Iavazzo, the skipper of the Bettica patrol boat, said they survivors were brought back from the jaws of death amidst the drama. “At sea, the saving of human lives is something sacred.”
Meanwhile, another boat trafficking people to Europe has capsized off the Libyan coast, according to the Italian coastguard, the second major deadly incident in two days.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2014/sep/Burqa-lady-s.jpg
The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) enjoys constitutional status in Pakistan and gives non-binding proposals to the parliament to make laws according to Islam. The controversial alternative bill was prepared after the CII rejected Punjab’s Protection of Women against Violence Act (PPWA) 2015, as un-Islamic.
PPWA, passed by the Punjab assembly, gives legal protection to women from domestic, psychological and sexual violence. The proposed bill will now be forwarded to the Punjab Assembly.
*Tweet talk*
BilawalBhuttoZardari
@BBhuttoZardari: Those proposing sexist & anti-women legislation are the ones who should be punished with a ‘light beating’.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/may/27-PM_s.jpg*(From L) Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, French President Francois Hollande, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US President Barack Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, European Council President Donald Tusk and British Prime Minister David Cameron visit Ise-Jingu Shrine in Ise in Mie prefecture yesterday. Pic/AFP*
*Bitter Beijing*
Presidents and prime ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations huddled in Japan for two days of discussions focused on how to stoke demand and encourage growth. But China’s growing assertiveness, particularly in bitter territorial disputes in the South China Sea was providing ever-louder background music, with European Council President Donald Tusk saying the group needed to take a “tough stance” on the hot-button issue.
Beijing swiftly launched a stinging broadside against the G7 — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US — which it said should not pursue “selfish interests”. “G7 should focus on its own duties, that is economic cooperation, it should not point fingers at something outside its portfolio,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular briefing in Beijing.
The Xinhua news agency, Beijing’s official mouthpiece, reinforced the point with a blunt commentary that said the group “should mind its own business” and accused Japan of exploiting its host status to try to isolate China.
*Water war*
Both Washington and Tokyo — which is locked in a separate dispute with Beijing over islands in the East China Sea — have warned against China stoking tensions in the contested waters. Beijing’s rebuke came as the G7 opened its 2016 summit at Ise-Shima, a mountainous region.
*Holy trouble*
Leaders, including US President Barack Obama visited Ise Jingu, a shrine complex that sits at the spiritual heart of Japan’s native Shintoism. Abe’s decision to take his counterparts to the site — also a hotspot for domestic tourists — has raised eyebrows among some critics, however, who say Shinto retains some of the nationalist overtones with which it was imbued when it was the state religion.
Several bilateral meetings took place yesterday.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/may/02-Barack-Obama-s.jpg
*Barack Obama. Pic/AFP*
The real estate is reportedly owned by Joe Lockhart, who served as White House press secretary under former President Bill Clinton. The house was built in 1928 and has nine bedrooms and eight-and-a-half bathrooms. It was sold in 2014 for more than USD 5 million, CNN reported.
Obama, 54, has said he and his family will remain in Washington home after he departs 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in January 2017, a change from most former presidents. "We're going to have to stay a couple of years in D.C. probably so Sasha can finish," he said in March about his youngest daughter. "Transferring someone in the middle of high school? Tough."
Obama, the 44th US President, will demit office on January 20, 2017 after serving two terms. Reported by Mid-Day 19 hours ago.